The first mention of the village Pečovská Nová Ves is from 1319 (Wyfalu). This historically important village was already the seat of noblemen in the Middle Ages, but it was not until the beginning of the modern period that it became the centre of an estate, which caused the need to build a landowner's residence. Until 1322 it was a royal property, then it and its surroundings were owned by the nobleman Mičko, who built his mansion high in the Čergov Mountains. Through marriages, other families who occupied manor houses and curonias in the village, be it the Pécha, Mariássy or Bornemisz families, came to Pečovská Nová Ves. Thanks to them, Pečovská Nová Ves is extremely rich in monuments and historical buildings. In addition to the Baroque church, the Classicist synagogue and the chapel, there are more than 10 mansions and manor houses, which can be rivalled in Slovakia only by the municipalities of Liptovský Ján or Brezovica. Such a concentration of monuments is unique for rural areas.
In 1556, the Péchy family acquired the aforementioned castle and territorial estate, but they did not choose the old and damaged castle known as Ujvár as their residence, but decided to build a more comfortable residence in a lower position, which was secured as a lowland castle.
The fortified noble residence was built on the left bank terrace of the Torysa River (361 m above sea level), where the terrain slopes south to the valley of the Torysa River and west to the valley of the Ľutinka River. It is a relatively prominent location within the valley with a good view over a large part of the Toryska valley, which was also the route of an important country road.
A building with a predominantly residential function has therefore been appropriately located. It is assumed that the manor house was to some extent to protect the nearby Hanigov castle, which is why it was also equipped with shooting ranges. And manor houses with shooting galleries were really rare in Slovakia. The building later known as the "Ring manor" was built in 1556-63 at the earliest. It is not mentioned in the grant deed from 1556 or its confirmations, so it did not exist before and it is very unlikely that the building was built by the previous owners of the village (the Tarczay family), as such a significant stone building would certainly have been mentioned in the grant deed. The wooden beam of the manor's ceiling bears an inscription with the date 20. 6. 1649. The construction in the second half of the 16th century is also evidenced by the architectural details - the rounded profiles of most of the lining of the manor's openings, which are typical for the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance.
The noble residence was a compact building, where a high prismatic tower and a residential palace with a smaller tract at the north-eastern corner were incorporated into the irregular plan. The latter, however, had most of its walls not of stone like the rest of the building, but only of wooden beams. There were more roofs than window openings and even fewer entrances in the thick walls of the building. The building was entered from the south and sometimes perhaps from the west. The west and south facades had approximately four windows each with moulded Renaissance lining, the north facade had only two windows and the east facade had no windows. The façades were clearly dominated by different types of rooflights, up to 27 in total (slit, key, leg). They were situated mainly on the upper floors and strategically arranged and directed so that the defence was secured as efficiently as possible. The massive corner tower, where the aforementioned firing areas can be seen, has been preserved to this day. In the individual rooms, the Renaissance stone doors, the Renaissance stucco patterns on the arches and the Baroque fireplace have been preserved. From the 19th century onwards, the manor house was probably no longer the representative seat of the Pécha family and the building was probably only rented out or used for other (e.g. economic) purposes.
The interesting feature of this manor house is the fact that it is a building Irish type, which has no equivalent in Slovakia. Valuable are not only the early Renaissance details, but especially the building as a whole, as it is a very unique type in our country. Analogically, the closest objects are the manor houses in Šimonovany or the extinct Parížovce. The original plan was that this building would have the character of a lowland castle, so it was surrounded by a moat. However, it can be said that it is a combination of a castle and a manor house. In the vicinity of the manor house there are still preserved (rare buildings by rural standards) - smaller historical houses in terraced houses, dating back to the 19th century at the earliest, which probably served as servants' dwellings. The Ring manor house, although a relatively little-known monument, is not only of regional but also of national significance.
Ringo Manor is part of the Šariš Castle Road.
Source/Photo: village Pečovská Nová Ves, ( Pečovská Nová Ves - travels through history)
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